The sales turnover of head office companies in Japan shows a 4.4% decrease in domestic sales compared to the same quarter in the previous year. But this has been improved to a decrease of only 0.4% thanks to increased exports. The sales turnover of overseas local corporations, on the other hand, though decreasing in the ASEAN 4 countries, increased in all other regions, with an increase of 8.1% overall.

Viewing the prospects for sales turnover in the first quarter of 1998 in terms of a DI comparison with the previous quarter (*1), the proportion of head office companies that forecast an increase has fallen greatly (from +13.2 to -2.6), going into the negative for the first time since we started these surveys. Although overseas local corporations remain positive in the first quarter of 1998, the proportion of local corporations that forecast an increase has also fallen greatly (from 35.9 to 26.5).

In terms of individual regions, North America, where the situation is reportedly healthy, remains on a par at 42.5. But in all other regions, the proportion of local corporations that forecast an increase has fallen. Similar trends are also seen in exports to Japan and local sales.

Equipment investments (the acquisition value of tangible fixed assets other than land) by head office companies increased 2.8% from the same quarter of the previous year, thanks partly to an increase in electrical machinery. But compared to the previous quarter this has fallen greatly (-14.7%).

Equipment investments by overseas local corporations, on the other hand, have increased in regions other than Asia (mainly in North America), increasing 32.4% from the same quarter of the previous year.

Viewing the prospects for equipment investments in the first quarter of 1998 in terms of a DI comparison with the previous quarter, the proportion of head office companies that forecast an increase has fallen (from 6.2 to 4.0). Overseas local corporations have also decreased somewhat (from 17.1 to 15.4). In terms of different regions, the scale of the decrease is particularly large in China and other Asian countries (-7.6).

Meanwhile, direct overseas investments by head office companies in this quarter decreased greatly from the same quarter of the previous year (-38.4%).